These days, so many new releases on the Xbox Live Indie Games Channel seem to fall into the categories of creepy dating simulators, zombie-apocalypse shooters, or blatant clones of other successful game formulas that it’s easy to miss out on the truly innovative indies. Thankfully, if you poke around beneath the surface, you’ll unearth some crazy, interesting stuff.

After diving deep into the XBLIG rabbit hole to see just what kind of wild creations are down there, we handpicked the three most unique and unusual offerings we could find — then tracked down their creators to gain some insight into each peculiar project.

In The Pit (80 MS points, Studio Hunty)

For 99 percent of all games, graphics are an absolutely necessary ingredient. In The Pit is the other one percent. Designed by R. Hunter Gough for an experimental gameplay competition, this first-person audio-only stealth game puts you in the role of a flesh-eating beast locked inside a dank, pitch-black dungeon. You have to hunt down and consume each victim that enters your lair while avoiding being slain – all by using audio cues and controller vibrations alone.

The limitations of creating an audio-only game actually made crucial design decisions much easier, says Gough on the development process. “I didn't have to worry about graphics at all, and it freed me up to focus on the gameplay and on making the gameplay work with the controls and the audio-only constraints.”

Inspired by an audio-only Space Invaders–like game, Gough set out to craft his own twist on the concept and initially planned on making a ninja or super-spy assassination game set in the dark. “Around that time the theme of the first Experimental Gameplay Competition was announced as ‘consume,’” he recalls. “So I decided to turn my ninja assassinating people into a monster eating people and [thus] develop the initial three-level version of the game for the competition.”

The final XBLIG version of In The Pit is more fleshed out. Play it with a good pair of headphones and your eyes closed — it’s a real trip.

Brutally Unfair Tactics Totally OK Now (B.U.T.T.O.N.) (240 MS points, Copenhagen Games Productions ApS)

Few games encourage your and your opponents to get physical quite like the way B.U.T.T.O.N. does. Most of the action in this zany party game happens before you even reach for the controller. In fact, getting there is half of the challenge. Every round starts with all opponents putting their controllers down and taking six steps back. Then the real fun begins.

“Players race to their controllers in their real living room and do whatever it takes to win (or avoid losing),” explains co-designer Lau Korsgaard. “Rounds always end in a big wrestle on the floor where everyone is trying to push their button or prevent others from doing so. On top of this havoc, players are asked to do all sorts of silly stuff. They have to do pushups, spin around, act like a monkey, or strip off some clothing.”

B.U.T.T.O.N. came from an impromptu brainstorming session where Korsgaard and his teammates decided to subvert the GAMMA IV competition’s “one button game” theme and make a game that encourages players to push each others’ buttons. This led to lots of interesting ideas for gameplay could occur across the room and away from the screen.

“I have been constantly surprised by how much players a willing to do,” he adds. “Players stare complete strangers in their eyes, roll around on the floor, yell out weird sounds, and make a laugh of themselves in total public spaces.”

PewPewPewPewPewPewPewPewPew (240 MS points, Incredible Ape)

PewPew (abbreviated from its full nine-Pew glory) is a rare game that’s almost more fun to watch being played than it is to play yourself. This intensely silly two-player co-op shooter is controlled entirely with headsets mics and the ridiculous noise you have to spew into them. The trick is both players are in charge of a single space-dude who must blast through a gauntlet of swirling neon obstacles.

One person fires the character’s laser gun by saying “pew” (or some other short popping noise), and the other player controls his jetpack by making long “fwooshing” sounds at different volumes. The shooter can also screech or yell to trigger a screen-destroying bomb. That’s not all. Both players’ voices are also put through strange voice processing sound effects and spit back out through the TV speakers as high-pitch warbles. It’s hilarious.

Most players resort to making humorous, crude noises, says programmer Josh Schonstal, and everyone seems to have their own interesting way of playing PewPew. “I really enjoy that it's about watching others play, performing for others, and laughing together as a group,” he adds. “The players themselves create the humor. The game is just a facilitator for that, and it's really about the interaction between the players outside the game more than the game itself.”